FansUnite Entertainment is headquartered in what is expected to be a multimillion-dollar sports betting industry. As Canada expands its betting laws to allow single-event wagers, the Vancouver-based company is in a good place to capitalize on the expansion. However, it isn’t eyeing the new market as a potential target for a sportsbook, leaving more room for operators like DraftKings and FanDuel to grab hold.
FansUnite Entertainment to Forego a Canadian Sportsbook
Yahoo Finance Canada spoke with FansUnite CEO Scott Burton recently and found out what’s in the company’s plans for the immediate future. Having acquired McBookie, a sportsbook targeting the UK market, last year, FansUnite has had substantial success through that arm and wants to allow the business to grow naturally. He adds that McBookie “strives to be the number one choice for Scottish punters.” In its most recent completed quarter, FansUnite had 92% of its $1.07 million in revenue come from McBookie.
In addition to the success it enjoys from its current operations, FansUnite’s boss doesn’t believe the company can compete against operators with much deeper pockets as Canada’s sports betting market expands. He explains, “You’ve got some very big brands that have extremely big budgets, and spend a lot on customer acquisition. They’re willing to go quite some time losing money on their users just to get the biggest piece of the pie.” He adds, “That doesn’t necessarily play well for a Canadian small cap like ourselves.”
There’s Still an Important Role for the Company
Even if FansUnite doesn’t want to launch a sportsbook in Canada, it still has ambitious plans for being involved in the industry. The company has its own technology and platform, instead of relying on third-party providers, and believes that it could make more money selling that technology to other operators like it does in other jurisdictions. Its B2B technology is approved for adoption by operators in several countries in Europe and Latin America, and it could conceivably offer the same solution to other operators looking to get in on the Canadian sports betting market. If not, then it might consider a direct sportsbook launch.
Burton told Yahoo, “We do see a big opportunity in the technology provision side of things. Let the other operators like FanDuel and DraftKings and MGM and Penn Gaming in the U.S. go at it on the direct-to-consumer front. If it doesn’t look like we’re going to be a technology provider to anyone significant in Canada, then we’ll probably look to enter directly ourselves.”
In addition to its presence in Canada, Europe and Latin America, FansUnite is interested in being able to tap into the US market in some manner, as well. It announced an agreement with OneComply at the beginning of the year that is designed to make an entry easier to manage as it continues to explore which states would offer the most benefit should it partner with an operator, or operators, in the country.